The designation is the result of a nationwide study of high school graduation rates, where the DISD only shows a 43 percent success rate in 2007. The finding was published in Education Week as part of their "Diplomas Count" study.

The numbers, which were tallied using the publication's "Cumulative Promotion Index," don't jive with the state's estimate of 63 percent for the same year.

The study's distinction makes the DISD one of the country's 25 dropout epicenters who are responsible for one in every five of the nation's dropouts.

Dallas wasn't the only district in the state to recieve the designation, Houston was also named a "dropout epicenter" with a 42 percent graduation rate.